TCI News
TCI Hospitals Update: Trauma cases involving fatal shooting, illegal migrant collapsed, attempted suicide
#Providenciales, Turks and Caicos – Tuesday April 10, 2018 – The TCI Hospitals in recent weeks has delivered urgent medical care to emergency cases involving some women in Providenciales; each case presenting significant emotional, physical and traumatic challenges for the Interhealth Canada run facility.
Magnetic Media inquiries on the Haitian woman found laying in the road shortly after a string of illegal boat landings to Provo; other questions on a popular mother of four who was shot and killed and from the weekend, a distraught young woman who announced to the world via Facebook that she was going to take her own life, were all met with answers by the Hospitals. 
Public Relations Manager, Nikira John said of the latest case, “A female in her 20’s was transported to the Emergency Department of the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre on the afternoon of 8th April 2018 by ambulance services and the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force with a history of an alleged suicide attempt. The patient underwent immediate care and intervention by the Emergency Department team. The care of the patient required a multidisciplinary approach involving the Consultant Psychiatrist attached to the Department of Mental Health within the Ministry of Health, Agriculture and Human Services.”
In an emotionally charged video broadcast, the woman weeping uncontrollably, revealing that she was unable to get any family member to hear of her problems and saying that her suicide was an attempt to make everyone who had ever hurt her sorry, that she wanted them to live with ‘causing’ her death, for the rest of their lives. “Especially you!” she said into the cell phone, “You know who you are…”
Prayer requests were sent out over social media and there was reportedly a frantic search for the woman. Eventually, she was found – alive, but having already done some damage to herself. 
The video hads gone viral, but appears to now be taken down from the social media page of Morris.
At this time, the young woman, identified on her Facebook page as Henricka Morris, is still receiving treatment.
“The patient remains under the care of the Consultant Psychiatrist and a multidisciplinary team from the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre who will continue to support the patient and her family. Due to patient confidentiality we are unable to provide any detailed information about her care.”
In another trauma case: Family, friends and loved ones continue to mourn the loss of ‘Deka’ Stubbs-Saintlemon who was fatally shot while leaving a night club on Leeward Highway on March 23, 2018.
Our news organization was bombarded with questions on the quality of care the mother of four received, after being struck, reportedly in a hail of gunfire said to be meant for someone else.
Ms. John said this at the time, “A female in her early 30’s presented to the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre during the early morning hours of March 23rd 2018. The patient was transported to the Emergency Department via private vehicle with a history of sustaining a gunshot wound to the body. Upon arrival, the patient was unresponsive and critically injured. The onsite Emergency Team was activated and resuscitation efforts commenced. In accordance with standard hospital protocol, an on-call operating room team was immediately activated and mobilized to support the emergency response team who is permanently onsite.” 
The account laid out by the TCI Hospitals PR executive continued with, “A decision was made for surgical intervention and the patient was transferred to the Operating Theatre where she unfortunately succumbed to her injuries. The matter was referred to the coroner as per hospital protocol. Our deepest sympathy is extended to the family for their loss. Due to patient confidentiality, we are unable to provide any specific details.”
Andreka Stubbs-Saintlemon was an employee at Business Solutions, upon entering the store – customers are greeted with a smiling, happy portrait of the beautiful wife and mother, which even today still hangs on the double door in memory of the beloved employee.
And in yet another major medical matter, Magnetic Media received an update on the Haitian woman, who is believed to arrived into the country on one of five illegal Haitian boats. The woman was said to have been living in the bushes for days, she was discovered in the road, collapsed and taken to the Cheshire Hall Medical Center. 
“A female patient in her early 40’s was transported to Cheshire Hall Medical Centre via ambulance on March 18th 2018. The patient was seriously ill and required resuscitation in the Emergency Department”
The state of the woman underscores the danger of taking the unauthorized voyages from Haiti. At the time of our request in late March, “..the patient remains under clinical care and is presently in stable condition. Based on the information provided in relation to her suspected entry to the country, she is currently being guarded.”
Wilkie Arthur
Freelance Court Correspondent
#TurksandCaicos, April 25, 2024 – He was busted at the Howard Hamilton Providenciales International Airport on Friday, April 16, 2024.
He allegedly had in his luggage four (4) rounds of 6.5mm ammunition on his departure to his homeland in Oklahoma in the United States of America (USA).
Ryan Watson and his wife were arrested and placed into police lock up. Both were later granted police bail, and upon return to police station the Monday after the couple’s arrest, the husband alone was charged by detective Police Constable Kimberlee Markland for
unlawful possession of the four rounds of ammunition.
Watson was escorted to court on Tuesday, April 23rd, placed before the learned Chief Magistrate Mr. Jolyon Hatmin and remanded to His Majesty’s Prison until his sufficiency hearing on June 7, this (2024) year.
His counsel, Mr. Oliver Smith KC and his junior assistant Mrs. Kimone Tennant immediately sought bail for him in the Supreme Court which was heard the following day (Wednesday April 24) before her Ladyship Ms. Tanya Lobban-Jackson and was granted bail, without hassle in the amount or $15,000.00 cash or surety.
The Crown, in the person of senior public prosecutor Ms. Tassja Mitchell did not oppose bail.
Magnetic Media can report that once again on the afternoon of the Tuesday April 24th, after the accused RYAN TYLER WATSON, 41 was remanded by the Magistrate’s court, the U.S. Embassy issued an warning to it’s citizens and travelers to carefully check their bags when traveling to Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) as TCI authorities are strictly enforcing firearm and ammunition laws and if found you could go to prison for 12 years.
A real question of great concern and public importance is: should the TCI courts sentence tourists to the full mandatory minimum of 12 years imprisonment for simple possession firearm and/or ammunition.
The succinct answer is: Yes!
The Court of Appeal, just last month said in its written judgment that “ALL PERSONS,” including tourist/visitors must go to prison if found guilty or pleas guilty to firearm and ammunition offences.
However, there remains the concern about how much time in prison a judge should give a visitor regardless of the existence of exceptional circumstances.
Should the judge imprison a visitor to the territory, who may have been wrongly informed, for example, the full mandatory minimum term or must a reduced prison term be imposed.
If TCI judges start to give less than the mandatory minimum to tourists/visitors, it is being strong and widely advocated by senior defense attorneys that the same must apply to local or residents of these Islands, who may also present exceptional circumstances.
Arguments about the equity in delivery of justice is what drove the question to the Court of Appeal late in 2023. The decision came this past February.
‘We cannot find ourselves sentencing tourists regardless of exceptional circumstances to lesser sentences, and when those same exceptional circumstances are found in local cases, it’s being ignored by our judges.’
Human Rights Attorney, Sheena Mair has on more than one occasion argued this point; including in firearm and ammunition bail applications. She would put the very same judges and prosecutors from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution on the spot by reminding the judges and the prosecutors that precedent has been set.
‘You’ve just granted bail to a tourist for firearm and ammunition but now here’s a local person, same charge but because he’s a local he can’t get bail? He has to be remanded pending a trial that could take years before it’s heard?’
Mair has valiantly outlined the wrong in this and clearly stated this practice is “not fair” and it’s “not proper administration of justice in the Turks and Caicos Islands.”
Ms. Mair further complained that tourists would plea guilty to possession of firearm and ammunition and be released on bail pending sentencing but as for a local, he or she has to wait on remand at the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation pending sentencing.
The attorney criticizes the optics of such decisions and is on record reminding the Judge that the Court of Appeal has already set out that the law applies to everyone; visitors and locals alike.
A police statement issued Wednesday April 24 informs: “Today (April 24th), Mr. Watson appeared in the Supreme Court and, following a bail application, was granted $15,000 bail with the following conditions:
1) Not travel out of TCI without the court’s permission.
2) Surrender his passport and all other travel documents to the court
3) Report to Grace Bay Police Station on Tuesdays and Thursdays between the hours of 8 am-4 pm,
4) Reside at the given address in Providenciales; any address change will be provided before the court.”
The American from Oklahoma whose story is trending in the US and has been carried by leading news networks was joined by a host of loved ones at the Courthouse.
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